As the moons walk gently by
by Fortyfive stars
Summary: A collection of 104themed drabbles. Irregularly updated and all drabbles varying in length. Rating varies from G to Rish.
1. What remains

The air was crisp that spring morning, frost crawling over the withered tufts of yellow grass that were the only remains of a harsh winter. They sat side by side on a bench in the cold, breaths misting in the air and catching in the fine web of their knitted scarves as small liquid pearls. Both stared straight ahead. Doumeki was the first to break through the impassive silence.

"So what chased you this morning?"

Watanuki sputtered and his arms crossed defensively over his chest. "Absolutely nothing!" He glared with an impressive amount of rancour at Doumeki from the corner of his eye. "And how do you know about that anyway?"

Doumeki chose his words carefully. "You're no longer my business, you've made that amply clear. It's all up to you. But this--" he pointed at his right eye, "remains." _And so do I_. _So do I_.


	2. Fundoshi

Title: Fundoshi (SORRY FOR THE LAME-NESS!)  
A/N: Credit to **Steven Saylor** for the line 'he placed a hand over his loincloth, splaying his fingers' from the book _The Judgement of Caesar_. Yeah, I like roman sleuths.

Shizuka had just started drifting into a pleasant half-awake, half-asleep state of mind under an oak tree in one of the more remote parts of the garden when a scowling Kimihiro moved to stand between him and the sun. He held a scrawny ginger cat in his arms; _another one of his strays_, Shizuka thought and stifled an exasperated snort.

"How can you _still_ be sleeping, you lazy oaf! In the middle of the day! In THAT state of dress! And on _temple grounds_!"

Shizuka smirked lazily.

"You're the one who kept me up."

"THAT IS _SO NOT _WHAT WE'RE DISCUSSING!" Kimihiro screeched, an angry -or perhaps embarrassed- flush spreading over his cheeks. The cat twisted and leapt from his grasp while Shizuka didn't supress a quiet laugh. For a few moments he regarded Kimihiro with a heavy-lidded, heated gaze. He placed a hand over his loincloth, splaying his fingers suggestively.

"And since you appear to be so energetic today, maybe I should do something about that?" His hips stirred and moved up enticingly against his hand. Kimihiro fled to the loud and clear sound of Doumeki's unabashed laughter ringing out in his wake.


	3. The constant satellite

**A huge thank you to the reviewers who have all been very kind. You cheered me up greatly!  
**  
Himawari is not very good at physics, but it's not entirely her fault. She's certainly clever enough, but a lot of the concepts are just... difficult for her to fully comprehend and wrap her mind about. It could be because the teacher simply cannot find a way in which to explain it to her because when it comes to physics they're not speaking the same language. She might have found a solution to her problems however, having lately realised that the answer has been right in front of her the entire time. All she needs to do is apply the laws and logics and lessons to examples that are easily graspable for her.

So in terms of astronomy and physics, Watanuki is the larger planetary body around which the Doumeki satellite orbits.

_**Newton's first law of motion  
**_A body continues in its state of constant velocity (which may be zero) unless it is acted upon by an external force.


	4. Anticipation

I would just like to extend man thanks to my three reviewers Heaven's Valentine, Azamiko and psychopathed. I really appreciate that you took the time to let me know someone out there was reading - so thank you. :D

* * *

It was perfectly unexpected, as some of the best things in life are.

The bell rang for lunchtime and you ducked out of the classroom a few minutes late, feeling irritated that your classmates should presume to take up your precious time right now when it -from your point of view- could have waited and certainly wasn't serious enough to warrant them disturbing your lunch break.

You arrive to the remote lunch spot -stairs towards the back of the building, quite deserted ever since they opened up the corridor on the second floor- slightly out of breath, not beginning to stroll leisurely until just before Watanuki can see you. You note that Kunogi's not there and then you flop down beside him.

You say "Hn" and "Lunch" and prepare to soothe your bad mood today by digging into Watanuki's cooking except that, he's on his feet, towering over you, leaning in a bit too close for comfort. He shoves the bento box into your hands but only to free his own and they grab your collar tightly, forcing you to look up into his face, his eyes.

"You licked your lips this morning." he says flatly, staring arrogantly down at you. For a few moments the ground almost rushes away from under you as you feel with a certainty - _he's finally snapped_. _His mind has gone overboard_. He must have noticed, because he glowers and shakes you. "You constantly _licked your lips _in _my_ presence all the way from your temple to school. So what I want you to do," he continues, in a viciously precise manner, "is to take your penis and put it in my behind and then take it out. Then I want you to repeat that as necessary until I'm screaming in ecstasy!" Watanuki huffs, eyes daring you to defy him by having a different opinion.

Your first idea of a response is 'Are you listening to yourself? I lick my lips and that means I want to fuck you' but you bite down on that one because it wouldn't be well recieved. So instead you say 'yeah' and 'okay', maybe a little breathlessly because by now you're really warming to the idea and you really can't think of anything you want more than to fuck Watanuki and why haven't you thought of this before?

He's released you but is still staring down quietly and you stare back. Is he waiting for another response you wonder, and hopefully you offer 'now?'. The effect is immediate.

He scowls at you and in tones of great disgust exclaims, "NO YOU CRETIN! WE'RE IN SCHOOL! WHAT ARE YOU, AN ANIMAL?! HONESTLY! IDIOT!" As he stomps away you take note of his rather attractive behind and almost goes from thinking abstractly about the firm roundness of it to '_That's where I'll'_ -- then you stop yourself. It might be too much if you start along those lines and anyway Watanuki might change his mind if you show up wearing soiled underwear, neatfreak that he is.

With a groan you realise you won't be going anywhere anytime soon, so you settle down to eat lunch, because, hell, it's there and it's practical. You just hope Watanuki's not going to back out on this. "Bossiest bottom around," you mutter once you're sure he's out of hearing range. Then you bite into your lunch and it's sinfully delicious - it tastes just like anticipation.

104 104 104 104 104 104 104 104 104 104 104 104 104 104 104 104

And some extra spazziness to boot. (It's a cut scene!)  
Watanuki: You're holding my hand! How very dare you! You want to ravish me on the school roof! YOU PERV! UNHAND ME!  
Doumeki: somewhat strained You're dangling over the edge. I'm keeping you from falling. Idiot.  
Watanuki: DON'T CALL ME IDIOT! I KNOW YOUR GAME! YOU WANT ME TO SWOON AND IN A FIT OF OVERWHELMED GRATEFULNESS BEG YOU TO MAKE ME YOURS!  
Doumeki: Wouldn't expect it from you. What do you read, anyway?  
Watanuki: THAT IS NOT WHAT WE'RE DISCUSSING! UNHAND ME, I SAY! AND DON'T TRY TO PLAY INNOCENT WITH ME, I KNOW YOU'RE JUST DYING TO GET YOUR HANDS ON ME! I'VE SEEN THE WAY YOU STARE AT MY.. MY.. mumblemumble  
Doumeki: Your what?  
Watanuki: My CROTCH, I SAID!  
Doumeki: to no one in particular You're the one who had your hand on my ass yesterday.  
Watanuki: YOU BACKED INTO IT! I HAVE WITNESSES! YOU WILFULLY BACKED INTO MY HAND SO THAT IT CUPPED YOUR NICE, TIGHT, ROU-- er... BUTT?  
Doumeki: Stop flailing. Idiot. (Smirks)


	5. Sacrifices

After the initial shock wore off you still remained numb. But life goes on and you with it and if you're a little more irritable, a little more volatile than usual, what of it? No one blames you, not even Watanuki - not out loud anyway but that in itself is an accusation coming from him. You find this totally unfair; it's not as if being stoic means you're not allowed to be selfish and scared and panic. It's not like that loud spaz has dibs on freaking out.

You tell your parents (because you must; this time it can't be glossed over or hidden) that you were in an accident, and it's kind of true. Watanuki is an accident on legs you sometimes think - one that is just waiting to happen. Your father hugs you tightly and leaves a wet trail on your shoulder. Your mother doesn't say much -she never does- but only kisses your forehead and remarks,  
"One must be thankful it was the shortest finger."

You're startled and surprised; you can find no words as you labour to tell her that it isn't just your little finger you've given up. But she knows, you realise she knows and although she doesn't approve (after all she has only one son and she loves him more than life itself) and although she is angry, she accepts your choices. She asks what you want for dinner - the unspoken conversation between you two is closed and never mentioned again.

A day shifts into a week, two weeks and suddenly all the leaves have become an explosion of red, yellow and brown upon the ground. Yet you're still waiting for Watanuki's explosion.

Acceptance is slowly coming to you, and every day you regain a part of your life - just not the part you're most desperately longing for. Himawari does her best to cheer him up and you let her, on the unspoken condition that she keeps a safety distance and reports everything back to you. You begin to despair because it seems he has learned nothing after all, and you don't know if you have it in you to repeat this heartwrenching process over and over until he finally gets it.

You're having a bad day when he shows up. Twinges of pain emanating from the empty air where your right hand's little finger should be kept you up for longer than you'd care to admit and you woke up gritty-eyed with a pounding head and a full-fledged cold. You wouldn't admit it but sometimes just looking at the severed joint ending cleanly after the knuckle is enough to raise tears to your eyes. But, as that woman would say, grief is okay, as long as one never regrets one's decision - and how can you?

So you're tired and grumpy and there he is, determination naked on his face.  
"Stop," he says and you grasp his meaning but your mind boggles because he must be mad if he thinks you will.  
"Release me. Let. Me. Go."

You strike him open-handed across the cheek, hard, because you're angry too and your mouth sets in a flat unhappy line.  
"Like hell I will."

He stares at you in wide-eyed surprise and then he begins to chuckle weakly.  
"So I guess that's a no then."  
You nod. "Yeah." _Most fucking definitely_.  
"Will you... you could wish to have your finger restored." he says, looking down and fidgeting. Just lke that the anger drains and all the tension you have gathered up these previous weeks seeps away.  
"I won't. It's gone, idiot." you reply, exasperated.  
He fails to be deterred by the (admittedly simple) insult. "But why? WHY NOT YOU OVER-GROWN PILE OF IDIOT?" (just because he wasn't dissuaded from pursuing the matter that doesn't mean he didn't register it)

Because you know more than you'd care to about paying a price and about sacrifices. And to sacrifice something that can be recovered would be the same as unbalancing the transaction. In your mind you recall that woman's words again; "That Watanuki. He still doesn't get it." _It's still true, despite all that has happened_.

He doesn't wait for your answer because there on the door step in the gloom of a rainy autumn day he leans in and takes away your first kiss. You might have been annoyed -you're not ready for this yet, either of you- except its heartbreakingly sweet and all you've imagined it to be.

He's grasping your wrist tightly - startled you realise that he's feeling your pulse, relishing that reassuring beat and sign of life. And you know again why you have chosen this path.

"I wish you'd stop."  
"Don't you _fucking_ dare."

Later you tell him the full depth of your sacrifice, gently but insistently. Then he's angry, you two argue, you win by sheer persistence, you kiss each other senseless - but he had to know because if he can't accept and bear the full weight of what you're willing to do, the lengths you will go to, then it's over before it begins. And you won't stand for that.


	6. Sweet silver bells

I was reluctant to add another chapter right away because with the five first drabbles I inadvertently achieved a 2222 word count, without counting them or anything before-hand. Right. Well. Yes, I know it's geeky but I was impressed, and my only regret in updating is breaking up that perfect word count. Sad, isn't it?

Azamiko - Watanuki must be blunt! He spends too much time running from spirits to have time being circumspect about it! And Doumeki is just all too happy to agree, I think. ;) I'm glad you liked number 5, I think that it's up to each person to decide on what sort of sacrifice it was.

Heaven's Valentine - Thank you! I wonder if there is anything Doumeki wouldn't do for Watanuki? I try to come up with something, but nothing enters my mind. Hm.

Piecrust17 - Right, reviews are never lame. Ever. And you can never have too many, especially not coming from the one person:D Well, Doumeki _would_ run, he doesn't want to be late after all, yet at the same time he'll walk because Watanuki doesn't need to know that it's important to him just yet. In number 5, Watanuki says "I wish you'd stop." and while Doumeki doesn't take it literally, he still knows Watanuki well enough to know it's something he might do. So he replies with the warning. Glad I made you laugh! (You're totally right about the lol thing. I usually am laughing when I use it though, but that's just because I only use it for the truly outrageous stuff. :D)

samithecreator - Glad to hear it. They're part of my favourites too, actually.

Now, here's a tribute to the New Year.

xxxholic  
xxxholic

They watch the fireworks from Yuuko's front porch, a merry, laughing party of unexpected friends. Watanuki observes, unaware of how wonderment and something tender sweeps over his face as he contemplates life, and how utterly unpredictable it is, how beautiful it is in its wild and fierce tossing. Watanuki observes Yuuko tossing back champagne at an alarming rate, Himawari smiling (for _real_) at Kohane-chan, Kohane-chan hesitantly stroking Tanpopo's brightly yellow feathers. Yes, in the midst of it all, a part of it yet strangely aloof, he observes, serving food to all and sundry and generally bustling about, revelling in the uncoiling joy of hearing Kohane-chan laugh and spending time with Himawari-chan (because here, now, in this place and in this evening it is _safe_) and speaking quietly with the Zashiki-Warashi who expresses a shy wish that the coming year may bring him much joy.

(_and because they are where they are, in the time where they are, because she is what she is, and tonight is a time between times, yes, because of that Watanuki feels the surge and pull, the struggle of power as that wish of hers strains to make itself reality...)_

He thanks her, surprised and grateful and solemn, and makes a similar wish of his own in return.

When he sinks back into the shadows of the draperies framing the doorway to breathe a bit, a strong hand closes around his wrist and two intent eyes peer into his face.

_I've been watching you all evening_, is what Doumeki doesn't say, instead just breathing quietly and existing, occupying the space right in front Watanuki as naturally and artlessly as he does everything else. "Have you made a New Year's resolution?" he asks.

Watanuki hesitates a split-second, then smiles softly, eyes kind but shuttered. "Yes. To not run anymore. To not hurt the ones I love by hurting myself."

Then there is a moment, a strange one (but not in an unpleasant way), where Doumeki looks at him from under half-lidded, lazy eyes, looks as if he's searching (and Watanuki is afraid to consider what he might be searching for) and then shifts infinitesmally closer, just a fraction and -- the moment snaps against the sudden backdrop of the first cracks of midnight fireworks and bells commencing their chiming to ring in the new year.

Doumeki and Watanuki rejoin the others, gazing at the garishly coloured skies, enjoying the smell of gunpowder lingering upon the softly stirring air and the way the constant flashing imprints briefly-illuminated views behind their eyelids. Enjoying the way their arms almost touch and the way they almost hear each other whisper 'I love you' even though they're both looking at the sky and the sound is impossibly lost in the clamour of the night.

The bells ring madly for the new year, heralding the impending and unstoppable march forward of time. A new year, a time of new beginnings (though surely a beginning can always be made if one is just determined enough) and also a time of releasing the old, whether one wants to or not. Yuuko smiles secretly to herself as she considers this, and considers how glorious it is that not only is mankind capable of change, it is incapable of not changing.

Just then, Watanuki brushes his fingers lightly against Doumeki's hand, and Yuuko (who is not a sentimental creature, not even after truly excessive drinking) cannot curb the mad happiness bubbling through her at this sight and simply has to raise her glass.

"To the New Year!" she cries, and they all agree, viewing the inevitable approach of the future with trepidation, yet hope. To the New Year.


	7. Taffy stuck, tongue tied

I haven't got any inspiration. UGH.

"Why are you always so quiet?" he asks you one day, the question surfacing and ambushing you so suddenly that you don't know anything at all. You frown but never break your stride, enveloping yourself tighter with silence as your brow furrows and you work to find an answer to a question you weren't expecting. He keeps up with you (just barely) and actually waits, actually focusing on you and it's terrifying but unexpectedly he wants to know the reason for what he's never even considered considering before.

You say: "Hn." Eventually. How can you explain that while inside your head your thoughts are running at a hundred miles per hour, still very few make it beyond the barriers of your mouth? It's like your mind recoils from the sound of speech. You could tell him, you want to tell him, that it's because in his presence, you're tongue-tied.


	8. Heavy enough

"You killed her." he whispers helplessly into his hands. You say - nothing. Because, on second thought, what can you say?

How ironic that the one thing that came closest to killing Watanuki wasn't a vengeful spirit but rather a scared and desperate woman who sought to avoid the supernatural to an even greater extent than Watanuki himself. You gaze down at her, crumpled by your feet. The gun dangles innocuously from your loose-fingered grip. The gun hole in the middle of her forehead doesn't improve her looks. She's old, you can see up close, old but desperately fighting it every step of the way. You happen to know that her bathroom is full of anti-aging creams, tube upon tube of sticky, empty promises.

Her eyes stare up at nothing. You feel like you should close them but you can't bring yourself to do it, just in case her spirit still lingers in the empty vessel of what used to be her body. You don't think so. But you don't _know_. And you _shot_ her, damned if you're going to be the one to trap her in darkness as well.

"How can you bear to look at her?"

You don't take your eyes from her; you don't dare. You're too afraid that he'll look into your eyes and see something very unsettling there. Something frightening and alien.

"How can I bear not to?" you reply hoarsely.

For the first time, you consider that maybe you just love him too much for your own good, for his good; that maybe your stubborn continued persistance in keeping him alive may someday lead you both to a very, very bad place. Maybe it already has.

You feel an uncomfortable weight slowly settle over your shoulders and you have a brief image of a damp and grey clump of sorrow shrouding you, sapping away your life and all that is good in it. You shrug irritably - there's nothing there and the image fades. Watanuki flinches away from you when you want to help him up. With a cold sinking clarity you suddenly know - the price for stealing the life of another is a very heavy one. Heavy enough to crush a person.


	9. Of crocuses and other small blessings

That night the storm let loose with a vengeance, lashing icy rain upon the city with an unmatched fury that drove everybody inside. Inside Yuuko's shop, Watanuki curled up under the stifling covers, alternating between sweatily kicking them off and then a little later wrapping them snugly around his shivering form only to start all over.

The next morning was beautiful, though, he thought and felt the first tentative rays of sun caressing his face, and so it was well worth a night of fitful rest. The sense of spring slowly stirring and approaching lightened his heart and spurred a similar stirring of something in himself. His steps were of a slightly bouncier nature that day, with a swing of the arms and a bound upwards when the ball of his foot left the ground - as if, Doumeki thought, inside he was already somewhere higher up under the sun.

They gave the Doumekian fan posse the slip that day during lunch break (not that they didn't always, but usually this didn't involve quite so drastic measures as hiding briefly in the air vent) although they had to go separate ways, the three of them, for a while in order to achieve it. Watanuki ranted about how Doumeki always brought him no end of troubles as he climbed up the stairs to the roof, but when he opened the door and came out into that open, sunlit space, chilly but bright, and saw Doumeki leaning against the opposite wall - his rant died. There was an intense look in those eyes then, something not quite yet known, and it blinded him as he stepped out onto the roof from the cool shadow of the hallway and hesitantly approached, suddenly not sure.

Doumeki stared. Eventually, he said, "I saved you a spot in the sun" but in a grunt and gestures rather than words and so they had lunch, just like usual. Watanuki filled up the silence, as usual, and Himawari joined them with Tanpopo, as usual, and all the while that unwavering, unconscious stare rested on him and he felt the burn of it adding fuel to the conflagration, the small sun that had been started inside him and was growing stronger.

Is it the sense of unexpected safety, of warmth he didn't see coming, of spring returning?

The school bell rings. Their eyes meet briefly over the noise. Then they both look away because, on this chilly february day when their breaths mist over and it's pleasant to be sitting outside but you do need to wrap up, it's not yet the right time. They can (and must) wait and find out that the journey can be just as interesting as the destination.

As Watanuki walks home that day he doesn't notice how the long, thick icicles that have been clinging stubbornly to trees and fences like frozen parasites have begun to melt, dripping water and new life into the withered tufts of yellow grass and budding sassy crocuses. But regardless of his noticing, it's happening anyway.


	10. Safety net

Continued thanks go out to Azamiko, Piecrust and Heaven's Valentine for being such faithful reviewers. Cheers!

* * *

**Safety net**

Watanuki has wedged himself into the middle seat in the back of the bus (as it leaves him with a clea view and the least obstructed path should he need to flee). It's an old habit and old habits are hard to stamp out and kill even if he's got Doumeki now. Because he's sitting where he's sitting he can idly watch the stooped old couple that just got on and follow their every movement, first as a random act that gives him something to train his eyes on and then with growing absorption.

In the middle of the aisle, feeble hands clutching the poles in the buggy area with their faces turned to each other as flowers to the sun, they have a quiet, tender (and somehow amused) exchange debating the merits of different seats. They only agree when the driver eventually jolt them out of their separate sphere by impatiently revving the engine and starting up the bus and then they totter towards the staircase, a full shopping bag dangling awkwardly from each of their arms. The old man insists she goes first, following after as she weakly hoists her body up the steep steps and prepared to catch her with his own frail, shaking one should her strength fail. Slowly they progress and ascend out of sight despite the jerky movements of the bus.

Coming back to himself, Watanuki swallows hard against the unyielding pebble of longing that has lodged itself in the back of his throat. That's what he wants, that quiet matter-of-fact love that brooks no arguments and walks behind him up stairs like a human safety net. Then suddenly unbidden memories rise -

_Him dangling from the school roof. A ribbon among the hydrangeas. Something the grandfather used to wear, given away. An open palm between him and the knife. Someone caring more about his safety than the effect of that choice. The sensation of sight returning. Blood, and the price it comes with._

- and in a flash of insight he knows - he already has it. And whether he accepts it or not, whether he's falling or not, the safety net is there.


	11. Madness

"My family thinks I'm mad to have stayed this long," Doumeki said and looked him squarely in the eyes, trembling and urgent, "and there's nothing I'd rather do than prove that they're wrong."

Watanuki hung his head miserably as the words quivered in the air. Doumeki felt the world spinning on its axis, shifting, changing course - and Watanuki walked away.


	12. All the ways I lost you to you

It's been a while but...

* * *

Why is it, he thought to himself, that the human mind has such a propensity for believing what we know isn't true? Is it simply because most of the time we prefer the comfortable lie, if it can patch us up?  
_  
Why is it this warmth within?  
No candlelight could cause this burn.  
__Memories of you begin, well… welcome friends, glad you return_

_Kimihiro_, he thinks desperately, _Kimihiro_. Those shuttered eyes, the voice fallen into disuse. Oh Kimihiro, when did I lose you? How could I lose you

_to the mundane everyday routine that we got lost in,  
to the days when we couldn't summon up enough energy to actually speak to each other not knowing that every such day was one more inch added to the widening abyss,  
to the light of the television that softened the silence with its incongruous noises,  
to the forgetfulness,  
to the monotone,  
to family and friends,  
to the anniversaries and the important dates neatly marked in a calendar that separated our lives and years into segments,  
to the photo albums and memories that allowed us to live in the past in naïve belief of it being the present,  
to the children, but_

_ultimately to you yourself_

yes, how could I lose you?

He takes a deep breath. "Watanuki?"

Oh, he hasn't used that name in _years_ and it burns like alcohol, a good burn. The taste of it on his tongue is unfamiliar yet slowly warming. "I love you."

And it's like waking up without a sound.


	13. Staring you down

Because it's Watanuki's birthday. Continued thanks go out to Azamiko, Piecrust and Heaven's Valentine for being such faithful reviewers. Cheers!

* * *

The staring is disconcertening. Watanuki is used to being watched, but not like that. Never like that before. It unnerves him.

"What are you doing?" he says at last when he looks up and finds Doumeki staring intently and not even pretending to be doing his homework.

"I'm waiting." that idiot replies evenly, serenely, and takes a sip from his teacup.

"For what? Godot?" Watanuki replies sarcastically, and then rolls his eyes at the blank look he's met with. "Honestly, if Haruka-san had spent nearly half as much time on your cultural education and mending your obvious mental shortcomings, maybe you wouldn't be half as annoying!"

Doumeki says nothing. Watanuki fidgets in the lingering silence. He tries to solve an equation. He tries to write a 500-word long essay in English on the benefits of new technology. He tries and tries and tries to focus but that burn, that stare, that acid seeping into his mind and shattering the bubble of concentration is not to be ignored. With a sigh he looks up again.

"What are you waiting for?"

"To be on your mind."


	14. Breakable

He used to believe that, while they outwardly maintained an image of codependence, really he was the one who was… well, strong

He used to believe that, while they outwardly maintained an image of codependence, really he was the one who was… well, strong, although perhaps strong would not be the exact word he'd like to use. More like… resilient. Or steady. But still. That he was the one to be leaned upon and the other, the one that would do the leaning. There has always been something fragile about the other one, at least to his eyes. Something that needed protecting. Something breakable.

Now, watching Watanuki give out comfort even in the cold, harsh face of the tragedy that has struck all of them but not least Watanuki for whom this is a highly personal loss, Doumeki has long since resigned himself to the fact that what he used to believe was completely and utterly wrong. Inbetween arranging shelters and organizing and caring for the wounded, in those short seconds when they catch a glimpse of each other, he searches that face and wonders whatever he might have been thinking of. Because written there, clearly, disproving him every step of the way, is the very real fact that some people never break. They just bend.

Watanuki glares at him as he shuffles past with a list. "Get some sleep," he snaps gruffly, closing the door to a room where someone (or several someones perhaps, they're running a bit short on beds as a steady stream of more victims pour in) has eventually been soothed to sleep. "You look like hell." Then he strides off, looking every bit as haggard, because he probably believes that if he hurries then Doumeki will not take note of the worry and concern behind the words. Watanuki does not come with subtitles, unfortunately. But over the years Doumeki has learnt to speak him like a native. And again he relives the feeling – that what appears at first glance to be breakable, may turn out to be anything but.


	15. The last dance

It's been a while since anything came to me, but this just... did.

* * *

Watanuki didn't go to Himawari's wedding, of course. How could he?

Doumeki did, of course. How could he not? Regardless of any feelings he might have had  
concerning Himawari he would still have gone, simply because Watanuki couldn't.

Everyone agreed it was a beautiful wedding.

Doumeki for his part stoically put up with Himawari tossing the bouquet at him, the giggling  
and inebriated bridesmaids (sisters and cousins of the groom) hitting on him with increasing  
fervor and the groom's stammered assurance that he would take good care of Himawari.

(Doumeki presumed he received the last one simply because he was the only one, excepting  
her parents and Kohane-chan, who was on the bride's side. And perhaps also because he  
always seemed to make the man oddly nervous.)

Once Doumeki thought he had stayed an appropriate amount of time he slipped away, quiet  
and unobtrusive, and returned to the shop where he for once was greeted by a very  
enthusiastic Watanuki. Perhaps that was not nice of him, for Kohane-chan's sake, but  
sometimes , just sometimes, he wasn't nice. Not when he wanted to be somewhere else with  
someone else.

It did not take long for him to piss Watanuki off, naturally. The cheerfulness brought on by the  
happiness of a good friend wore off proportionally to finding that Doumeki's answers were  
entirely unsatisfactory.

The outburst was a given, and that Doumeki didn't pay any attention to it was a given, and  
that there was some food (light snacks only, to go with the alcohol) was absolutely a given,  
and that Mokona bounced around and the twins danced until they were tired and fell asleep  
on the porch, bathed by moonlight and starlight, under Watanuki's tender gaze was a given.

And when it was all quiet, and still, and only the cicadas gave them something to contrast the  
silence _with_ – then he said,

"I saved the last dance for you."

Standing up from the porch, turning around, looking at the man with the glasses on the  
veranda – that's what Doumeki told him. His hand extended in offering, blunt and taciturn  
as always, but earnest, always so earnest.

That Watanuki would take his hand was a given.

While husband and wife was seen off by laughing well-wishers; while time went by and the  
world spun as it will; while their companions slept and thousands of millions of others did as  
well - through that they swayed gently together under the stars.


End file.
